Medical practices bought by private equity firms more than doubled in recent years

Private equity firms are increasingly acquiring physician groups, and new research finds that anesthesiology practices are most likely to be bought. Equity firms buying out medical practices help provide physician groups with the kind of financing they need to keep up with electronic health records and new billing procedures, among other necessities. Looking at data from 2013-2016 across the U.S., researchers found that the number of acquired medical practices went from 59 in 2013 to 136 three years later, and most of these occurred in the South. Of the 355 groups that were acquired over the study period, nearly 20% were anesthesiology and multispecialty firms. Private equity firms usually expect a 20% or greater return, the authors write, and future research will have to examine whether these firms' involvement with medical practices affects the quality and quantity of care in order to meet investor demands.